STOCK BOBBY CALVES
Opportunity with bobbies
Sunshine bliss.
A Canterbury equity partnership is making the most of bobby calves. By Anne Lee.
M
aatua Hou means new parents and it couldn’t be a better name for the venture four young couples with young children have embarked on to grow equity and find a solution for another group of youngsters – bobby calves. They’ve formed an equity partnership, bought a block of land and have found a group of dairy farms prepared to supply them with calves otherwise bound for the bobby truck, entering into a profit share arrangement. The farms supply four-day-old calves together with $215/calf, paying up front to partner with Maatua Hou. Maatua Hou rears the calves to weaning at which point they’re sold. Maatua Hou keeps the money from the sale, the farms are guaranteed to get their $215/calf back as a minimum once the sale has occurred and will share in any price over $215 at a split of 15% to them and 85% to Maatua Hou. (See table one.) David Williams is Maatua Hou’s operations manager and the instigator of the idea that brought the young couples 74
Lachie Williams – a calf venture with a twist, saving bobbies and helping grow a partnership
together in the equity partnership. He’s worked for corporate farming entities as an analyst and last year became a self-described stay-at-home Dad while partner Phoebe Davies, a partner in law firm Wynn Williams, returned to work after the birth of their son Lachlan. The pair and their equity partners shared their story at SIDE earlier this year.
About the time Phoebe returned to work David saw a property that ticked a lot of boxes when it came to land that could help them grow equity. “I think there was just over a month from spotting the property on TradeMe, becoming a stay-at-home Dad, flicking texts out to people asking if they wanted to be involved in this plan - and did they have any money to put in - and then buying it,” David says. The equity partnership and buying the land is at the core of the venture in that it’s brought the couples together, giving them a way to pool their resources and take on an investment none of them would have managed alone. It’s also allowed them to pool their skills – which in this instance are diverse. “We have real farmers, corporate managers, a lawyer, an accountant and a florist with the small business skills as well as farming skills.” Ben and Jo Jagger contract milk 950 cows near Rangiora and both have a farming background. “We were looking for opportunities
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2021
